NEWMAC Athletes of the Week (for week ending September 2nd)

Sep 03, 2018

NEWMAC Field Hockey Offensive Athlete of the Week

Tori Roche, Babson (Jr., Andover, Mass.)

Roche had a monster weekend with five goals and one assist for 11 points as the Beavers opened the year with back-to-back wins. The junior forward scored three of her career-high four goals in the first half as Babson routed Worcester State 10-1 on Friday. Roche followed it up by scoring the opening goal and tacking on an assist less than five minutes later to key a 3-0 win over Endicott on Saturday. The junior boasted an impressive perfect shot on goal percentage and a .833 shot percentage.

NEWMAC Field Hockey Defensive Athlete of the Week

Cassidy Riley, Babson (Fy., Catonsville, Md.)

Riley went 2-0 with a 0.50 goals against average and a .909 save percentage in two starts over the weekend. The first-year goalkeeper made a pair of saves in her collegiate debut, a 10-1 win over Worcester State on Friday, and then stopped all eight shots she faced to record her first career shutout in Saturday's 3-0 victory over Endicott.

NEWMAC Football Offensive Athlete of the Week

Chad Shade, Springfield (Jr., Pittsfield, Mass.)

Shade rushed for 247 yards on 22 carries, averaging over 11 yards per rush, to go along with six rushing touchdowns to lead Springfield College to a 42-21 victory over crosstown rival Western New England on Friday night. The Pittsfield, Mass. native directed an offense that rushed for 445 yards on just 60 offensive plays, as the Pride averaged over seven yards a carry on the night. In their annual Pynchon SAW rivalry game, Springfield defeated WNE for the second-straight year and the first time at home, in a game that proved to be a showdown between a pair of conference champions from a season ago.

NEWMAC Football Defensive Athlete of the Week

AJ Smith, Springfield (So., Rahway, N.J.)

Smith had a career-best showing in Springfield's season opener as the sophomore delivered a game-high 11 tackles in helping the Pride storm past Western New England, 42-21, on Friday night. Despite the defense being on the field for 80 plays on the night, Springfield limited the Golden Bears to just over four yards per offensive play. After surrendering the first touchdown of the game, Springfield held WNE off the scoreboard for nearly 30 minutes spanning the first and third quarters.

NEWMAC Football Special Teams Athlete of the Week

Spencer Herrington, WPI (Sr., Clearfield, Pa.)

Herrington was perfect Friday night at Anna Maria, going 7-for-7 in extra points and was successful in the lone field goal attempt for 10 of the Engineers points. He also added a 38-yard punt.

NEWMAC Men's Soccer Offensive Athlete of the Week

Alex Maiorano, Clark (Fr., Shrewsbury, Mass.)

Maiorano helped lead the Cougars to a 2-0 start to the season with three goals and two assists over the weekend. Maiorano tallied one goal and one assist in his collegiate debut in a win over Castleton, before notching two goals and one assist in a 6-0 victory over Rivier.

NEWMAC Men's Soccer Defensive Athlete of the Week

Stewart Frank, Springfield (Sr., Pittsford, N.Y.)

Frank, a senior goalkeeper for Springfield College, was instrumental in the Pride claiming the Best Western Plus Cardinal Classic Championship this past weekend, as the maroon and white defeated both Potsdam and Plattsburgh on Friday and Saturday. Frank turned in his first clean sheet of the year in a 2-0 result against Potsdam, as he only needed three saves in the win, before registering three more in a 2-1 victory over Plattsburgh. For his efforts, Frank was named the Tournament's Defensive MVP.

NEWMAC Women's Soccer Offensive Athlete of the Week

Jess Frost, Emerson (Sr., Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.)

Frost led the Lions to a 2-0 start in 2018 with three goals over the teams first two matches. On Friday night, Frost tallied two against Emmanuel College, scoring the game tying goal which sent the game to overtime and the game winner in the overtime period. Against Regis on Sunday, Frost added another goal. She tallied six points over two matches.

NEWMAC Women's Soccer Defensive Athlete of the Week

Amanda Manaster, Mount Holyoke (Sr., Beverly Hills, Calif.)

Manaster had an outstanding effort on Saturday, backstopping the Lyons to a 2-1 win over Simmons. Allowing just one goal, she recorded nine saves to pick up the win, including five point-blank stops in the second half to preserve the victory.

NEWMAC Volleyball Co-Offensive Athlete of the Week

Camryn Bancroft, Springfield (So., Eastport, N.Y.)

Bancroft helped lead the Pride to the Springfield College Women's Volleyball Invitational title over the weekend and was named the Most Outstanding Player for her efforts. The sophomore middle totaled 43 kills at a remarkable .409 clip, averaging 3.31 kills per set, and with only seven errors. She also added 10 blocks and five aces. After opening the season with five kills, three aces, and three digs versus Westfield State, the sophomore totaled 12 kills and two blocks, hitting .429, against Lawrence. She then followed that up with a career-best 14 kills to go along with three blocks in a win over Skidmore before closing the weekend with 12 kills, five blocks, and two aces in a sweep of RIC.

NEWMAC Volleyball Co-Offensive Athlete of the Week

Abby Bertics, MIT (Sr., La Jolla, Calif.)

In a 4-0 week for MIT which resulted in winning the Morrisville State College Tournament, Abby Bertics averaged 3.86 kills, a .376 hitting percentage, and 1.29 digs. She led all players with 18 kills, hit .445 percent, and posted two blocks in a 3-1 win over SUNY Oswego on Saturday. Later that night, Bertics produced a match-high 15 kills to go along with seven digs and three aces in a 3-1 win over SUNY Poly. She contributed eight kills, four digs, and two blocks in a sweep of Morrisville State on Sunday before tallying a match-high 13 kills on a .632 hitting effort while notching three digs and two blocks in a 3-0 win over Hartwick.

NEWMAC Volleyball Defensive Athlete of the Week

Briana Tovar, Springfield (Fr., Tucson, Ariz.)

Briana Tovar had an impressive start to her collegiate career as she racked up 66 digs in four matches with the Pride, averaging 5.08 digs per set. She also contributed 14 assists and three service aces. In her first collegiate match, Tovar went for eight digs, three aces, and five assists before turning in a 19 dig performance in just three sets against Lawrence. On Saturday morning, she delivered a career-best 21 digs versus Skidmore, and closed out the weekend with 18 digs in three sets versus RIC.